Is the rent too high in Atlanta?
A series of business closings in the Atlanta West Midtown branch has led to a series of small business town halls led by Invest Atlanta.
Atlanta – A series of business closings in the Atlanta West Midtown branch has led to a series of small business town halls led by Invest Atlanta.
Companies have underlined a series of problems, by lack of quick access to loans for immediate needs, lack of parking and the increase in retail rents.
The background:
According to Invest Atlanta, the average requesting the retail rent in 2020 was around $ 18 per square foot. Now this number has jumped at around $ 23 per square foot – it is a 28%increase. This adds that although the average demand to request rents in Atlanta is even more affordable than the national average, the American rent has only increased by 16% since 2020.
La Bodega / Buenos Dios Cafe is preparing to settle in the southwest district of Atlanta de Sylvan Hills. The increase in rents chased them throughout the city. They managed to survive the pandemic after leaving the city center for West End. The last straw before heading to Sylvan Hills was an increase of 28% of the rent, at the same time, in addition to a reduction in sales.
They bought the building for their new location with the help of a pilot deposit assistance program set up by Invest Atlanta. The Economic Development Authority considers that the program could be part of the up -to -date solution by providing aid to merchants to buy buildings.
The program worked with $ 2 million and tries to raise $ 3 million to extend the initiative.
What they say:
The CEO of Atlanta Eveste, Eloisa Kelementch, believes that the deposit assistance pilot program can be an important tool if it is extended.
“Just as an owner would be able to obtain waste assistance to buy his house,” said Eloisa Kelementch, CEO of Invest of Atlanta. “We would like to do this permanent because you have a better chance of having your destiny.”
La Bodega, which participated in the pilot program, believes that the purchase of its building, which belonged to a barbecue company, saved their business.
“Oh, my lord. So excited, more rent,” exclaims the co-owner Jeannette Flores-Katz. “Everyone is excited that I am here.”
In addition, some owners of small businesses find it difficult to access species for immediate needs, such as the money necessary to accelerate the inventory to take advantage of it and on the major events of the city.
“What we think is that we need a loan product that is smaller, faster to market and that we can really meet some of the needs of now and provide rapid money.”
What is the next step:
Invest Atlanta continues to hold the town halls through the city to collect comments from small businesses.
The source: Kevyn Stewart of Fox 5 spoke with the CEO of Invest Atlanta, Eloisa Kelementch and the owners of companies of West Midtown for this article.
